Distributor worries over proliferation of fake Brazilian Blowout hair products

MANILA, Philippines - Beauty Lane Philippines Inc., the local distributor of the Brazilian Blowout hair products, has soughtt the help of the Department Trade and Industry (DTI) in stopping the distribution of counterfeit items of the international beauty brand in the country.

In a letter to DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo, Beauty Lane said it has been receiving reports from consumers as well as its salon partners about the proliferation of fake Brazilian Blowout hair products in the country.

“Many more consumers are being made to believe they are getting the Brazilian Blowout brand by salons all over the country, only to discover that the product used were not authentic Brazilian Blowout. Instead, the products used on them were either copycat chemical solutions from China, which we are told do not even have Food and Drug Administration approval,” Beauty Lane president Dina Tobojka said.

Tobojka said the scheme being practiced by some establishments of passing off copycat products as the original international brand does not only pose a public health concern but is also disruptive and harmful to the business and customer integrity of the company and salons that are using the original Brazilian Blowout brand.

“Apart from these, we feel that our rights as sole distributor of Brazilian Blowout are being violated by companies that use variations of our brand name and by establishments that misrepresent the treatment they provide,” Tobojka said.

“This rising problem further compromises the trust vested on the country and its business landscape by international brands that are bringing world-class salon and beauty products into the Philippines, which has been contributing to the industry’s steady growth,” she added.

Beauty Lane already endorsed last August 13 its concern to the DTI to seek the agency’s assistance in warning the public against this kind of deception as well as to protect and preserve the integrity of the brand, Brazilian Blowout, from copycat establishments.

Republic Act No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code prevents companies or establishments from any commercial advertising or promotion that tends to misrepresent the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of goods, services, or commercial activities.

Beauty Lane said Brazilian Blowout, as a trademarked brand, needs to be protected from copycats that deliberately violate the brand’s integrity.

For its part, DTI’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO), along with its interagency task force, has been firm on its stand against the proliferation of pirated, fake, and counterfeit products to protect brands’ intellectual property rights.

Beauty Lane is a distributor of international brands, mostly of beauty products both for professionals and consumers.

The company exclusively markets Brazilian Blowout, a major beauty brand in the US which offers a set of products that salon professionals use as a hair-smoothing treatment.    – Richmond Mercurio